This invention relates to a flying paster, and more particularly, to a flying paster used to splice the leading end of a web from a new roll to the trailing end of a web running from a second roll. The splice is made while both rolls are being rotated at running web speed and while the running web is maintained under full brake/tension control.
Various types of flying pasters have been available and used for years in the web handling industry usually as an option or alternative to zero-speed web splicers. Flying pasters have found particular utility in newspaper printing press applications, that is, for splicing rolls of news print stock being fed to newspaper printing presses. In such applications, especially when the printing presses are housed in older buildings where useable floor space is at a premium, the ability to arrange flying pasters in vertical stacks has proved to be a marketable advantage.
In the past, flying pasters have had recognized practical problems which have limited their application and utility. These problems include the need to apply surface belts to the surfaces of the new rolls in order to drive the new rolls up to a speed matching the speed of the running web, and in some instances, to maintain web tension control after a splice. These surface belts have a disadvantage in that they tend to disturb the surface fibers of the web and prevent the use of simple splice preparations, as compared with zero-speed-splicer splice preparations. Indeed, most flying paster splice preparations are relatively complex, requiring the use of tabs, and precluding the use of continuous, straight-across splices achieved by a single strip of transfer adhesive. Additionally, prior commercially available flying pasters have required relatively expensive DC drives or mechanical press connections.
In sum, the concept of a flying paster, that is, splicing webs without stopping the running of the webs, is excellent in theory. Nonetheless, prior attempts to commercially employ this concept have encountered serious practical drawbacks that have generally relegated the flying paster to a second choice status as compared to zero-speed splicers. The need for an improved flying paster, which would realize the theoretical potential in a practical, work-a-day embodiment, has long been recognized by those working in the web handling industry.